A new lease of life for Cambrian Railways Coach No.238 4 July 2007 The coach before work began The interior of the main part of the coach The completed coach A 19th-century railway coach has been at the centre of one the largest conservation and reconstruction programmes undertaken by Amgueddfa Cymru. 19th-century passenger railways At the end of the 19th century, Cambrian Railways covered much of mid-Wales. Unlike the lines in south Wales, whose main purpose was to carry iron and coal from the valleys the short distance to the coast, Cambrian Railways provided long-distance passenger services. They connected coastal resorts such as Aberystwyth to the large cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London. Quality and luxury In comparison to today's trains, passenger coaches in the 19th century were quite complicated. Coach No.238 had a small luggage compartment at one end, then two first-class compartments and four third-class compartments. There were three toilets, one allocated to first-class use only. To make sure there was no mixing of classes, the corridors for first and third-class compartments were on opposite sides of the coach. Coach No.238 was built in Birmingham in 1895 to very high standards, its original plans stating: “Interior panelling of polished sycamore framed with walnut wood and gold lined”. From luxury coach to hollow shell The coach entered service in 1895 and was used mainly between Aberystwyth and Manchester before finally being withdrawn in 1939. During the Second World War it was converted into a wireless van. Later it was put into storage before being transferred to Amgueddfa Cymru in 1991 by which time the coach was essentially a hollow shell. The Museum decided to restore one first-class and one third-class compartment at either end of the coach, with the rest of the space to be used for groups of visitors. A special canopy was constructed to house the coach, allowing the restoration to go ahead even in bad weather. Restoration of the coach Work began with re-roofing the coach, then replacing the floor with 'tongue and groove' planks. The first-class compartment was found to have one set of planks laid at 45 degrees to the body of the coach, with a top layer laid at 90 degrees to the lower layer. Apparently this gave a quieter ride for the first-class passengers. Next to be renewed were the external panelling and mouldings, then the internal partitions and seat frameworks, all following the original plans. Such was the attention to detail that the metal brackets supporting the luggage rack were copied from an original with replicas being made in the brass foundry at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis. The coach originally had 14 coats of paint; fortunately, modern paints do not require such methods. The lower half of the coach is finished in Cambrian Green, with an original sample of paint used to produce the appropriate shade. Finishing touches The coat-of-arms of the Cambrian Railway Company and the Prince of Wales feathers provided the finishing touches. These were taken from originals that were photographed, scanned and laser printed to provide identical copies. The glory of this coach will serve as a reminder of the halcyon days at the beginning of the 20th century when people travelled from all over England to visit Cardigan Bay.
Monday 2nd July Chris Owen, 2 July 2007 Contributed by IWAN BALAIt was remarkable to come here, having heard stories about this place, and imagined other stories too. To stand on the floor that was stood on so long ago. Like Sean Harris, I am inspired to do some work based on this. Not sure what yet. Wedi mwynhau yn ddirfawr. 01/07/07
Monday 2nd July Chris Owen, 2 July 2007 Contributed by SEAN HARRISVisiting Llanmaes this time last year was fascinating as always – took a few photos, soaked it all up, went home… With no idea what it would lead to. I’m sitting here, talking to Nick Comerford, teacher from Aberdare School with whom I made the film Dadeni, a cauldron extravaganza based on finds from Llanmaes – sharks tooth, coin and so on. This time last year none of these had been unearthed. What will come from this years dig I wonder?
Monday 2nd July Chris Owen, 2 July 2007 Contributed by NICK COMERFORDI came down to the site in October, so it was nice to come back to see the site opened up. With a little help I’m starting to make sense of the colour of the earth, the position of the post holes, etc. I’m looking forward to seeing what turns up?
Friday 29 June Chris Owen, 29 June 2007 Contributed by ANNAOnly having come to Llanmaes for a week, today is my final day – and the week ends as it began, with everyone rained off site. But we had fair weather through the middle of the week, and good progress was made in the trenches. A mixture of pre-Roman and Roman finds in Trench 1 suggests that the site was occupied over a long period, intersecting features indicating that the (potential) settlement was built and re-built over the same spot. There are many post-holes in Trench 1, making an Iron Age settlement likely, although its shape (round or rectangular) has not yet been determined.I have spent the week working on a large post-hole which, unexpectedly, developed into a second post-hole, almost certainly of different date. As the fill continued further and further back below the top soil, it felt at times as though I would be chasing this feature endlessly across the trench – but it was a nice change to be taken by surprise by a feature, and exciting to realise that the two intersecting post-holes might tell us something about different periods of occupation on the site.A week is not really long enough to spend on as rich a site as Llanmaes, where new possibilities seem to emerge every day. As well as the potential Iron Age settlement, there is also possible evidence of a furnace, a hearth and a Roman building: plenty for everyone to mull over whilst skulking in the cabins and barns, keeping an eye on the rain.
